All these different activities....

So I decided I'd write a blog about all the different physical stuff I'm doing. If any of you readers are on my Facebook you've seen the posts of "I'm doin this class and that race and this what not".
It started out as me trying to find creative ways to exercise. I don’t have a gym membership anymore, and what they charge now days I couldn’t afford to get another one. I've dropped my trainer since he's not a good trainer and I was only doing it for the deal. So - I need to be creative.
I'm sure all of you have heard of Groupon and Living Social. And there's another one called Schwaggle or something. Anywhoo...they're deals. This is how I've been able to actually afford all this stuff. I actually had to pause because I signed up for too much and got over loaded. But you know what? I've loved it. I'm not doing any theater right now, and I'm not really sure when I'll be doing any upcoming. I'm really enjoying this stuff right now. I'm joining up with a burlesque troupe, but there are only a couple of shows coming up and the rehearsals will be limited and it’s still actually exercising! So - that will most likely be the only theater I do for a while and weirdly enough I'm totally ok with that. Of course this may change, but right now this is where I'm at.
So.
Let’s start with Warrior Dash. I actually blogged earlier about this (I'm pretty sure), but I wanted to bring it up again because this was kind of the kicker that got me started wanting to do all this shit. I have always wanted to do a race where you climb stuff! I love obstacles! I actually can’t run, so I power walk all these races I do, but its ok because they're "fun" races usually. Not just a straight 5K. Or a triathlon as some of my much more fit/active friends are doing right now. I have to say - I'm fascinated reading about their adventures. I don’t think I could physically ever do what they are doing but they are kicking some major ass. The discipline is insane. I will happily read about their adventures, but have ones of my own. Mine being more random I suppose! :)
One of the things I signed up for was a Groupon that got us a bunch of different classes with Hidden Talent Fitness. This is basically a group of burlesque gals that teach a bunch of classes. My friend April and I jumped on board. So far:
Chair Burlesque: This was the 1st one we took. I was happily surprised that I did quite well! We showed up and both promptly bought a pair of shoes. If I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right. So now I'm walking into the studio to dance in heels. (Character heels so not too brutal). The gal taught us a chair routine to the theme song to True Blood (I'm gonna do bad things to you...) It was super fun, the only complaints I have are she kept having to run over to her iPod to pause and re-start. That took up alot of time. So we didn’t actually learn an entire routine. But it was fun none the less. Not much of a work out tho.
Zumba: I enjoyed the work out aspect of this class because you never stop moving. The instructor wasn’t very good though. All she would do is dance up front and we basically copied her. I would have liked her to maybe teach us the basic footwork or something. But I was certainly sweating at the end of that class. The dance itself is kind of weird. It sort of reminded me of bad 80's dancing at one point, another time I thought we were doing the Macarena...then I was seriously scared we might break into the chicken dance. It’s kind of odd, but again - good cardio work out.
Pole Dancing: I had to bring a different pair of shoes for this one. My more hooker heels. Yup, gotta have your stripper shoes to do the stripper dancing. We took 2 of these classes. The 1st one was actually just me and April. I didn’t care for it too much, cuz the gal showed us a couple of moves then we just kept doing those over and over. I'm sorry. I'm not actually here to learn out to pole dance. I'm here to get a fun work out. The only thing that worked out was one arm. I wasn’t impressed. Well the next time we took the class there were more gals, and the instructor actually taught us a routine. I liked this a lot better. I also had the best upper body strength in the class. We had this one move where you basically lift yourself up almost sideways and do a leg move whilst up on the pole. Most the girls could only really bounce up and not get the leg move in there, but yours truly did it slow, steady and well. The gal even had me do it again for everyone to watch, saying "You have great upper body strength!". I of course beamed and promptly kept doing that. Yes, I will show off if I can. Well..lemme just say...the next 3 days I couldn’t lift my arms over my head. Way to go Jami. I also was not a fan of the spinning around the pole. I for some reason get super dizzy. So every damn spin I'd do, I'd have to pause to wait for my head to stop spinning. The work out was pretty good tho. Really worked your upper body!
Chair Cabaret: I was assuming this would be just like the Chair Burlesque. Oh no. This was a different gal, and our class was dimly lit and our moves were fancy like! At one point we laid across the seats of the chair, then flipped up into basically a head stand. When she 1st did it I thought "Oh dear Jesus...I'm goin down" but alas I did pretty good! I'm horrible with routines. My coordination is not the greatest, but I can usually fake it pretty good. I was stunned I performed quite well. 3 girls in the class ate shit - chairs crashing down with them and all. They were ok, just a little embarrassed but I cannot believe I was not one of them. The next couple of days my upper body, abs and legs were super sore. I loved it. That class worked all my problem areas!!! April and I signed up for 2 more of those classes we liked it so much. I'll let you know how they are.
Hip Hop: We knew going in that we probably were not going to care for this class, and we were right. The music gave me a headache, the gal spent more time watching herself dance in the mirror and we always had to wait a few minutes into the song before we started. There were also 2 little teeny bopper chicks in the class acting like assholes that I seriously almost drop kicked. Hip Hop...not my thang.
Kickball: You all know I play kickball. Sadly I will not be playing after this season. Unfortunately it just isn’t fun anymore. The league has gotten too big and the people are so angry and competitive (Yes. Kickball). Plus our old team captain always tried so hard to make it fun and our current captains don’t. So I've been getting my Monday night excersise playing ball (Actually more this time since I'm one of the best players...yam that’s right) but this will be it.
Boxing Burn: Ok, I just signed up for this one. My 1st class was Monday, and the other tonite. It’s Mon/Wed for the next 4 weeks. I LOVE IT. It’s brutal and I'm sweating like a whore in church and I'm so f-ing sore and I'm boxing and I'm doing cardio. This is exactly what I love to do. A cardio work out that invovles hitting. Yes. I do have that in me. Hello Irish temper. I haven’t been a part of an ass kicking class like this in a while. I definitely plan on keeping up with this one if I can. It’s through the city, so we'll see but right now I love it. I'm even hoping to do the class then straight to kickball after on some nights. Yes I'm that insane. I also feel pretty confident in the class because even tho I'm an uncoordinated retard, I know how to box. I love this one.
So that’s all the ones I've taken so far these past few months I suppose (Did I miss any?) I have a bunch of stuff upcoming: Fair Fun 5K Run, Wet & Wild 5K, Urban Dare, and Beachapalooza. Those will probably get their own blogs like Warrior Dash. Then I still have some upcoming classes: Paddle boarding, Aerial Hoop and Tissue Dancing, Power Yoga and Indoor Rock Climbing.
So yes folks. I'm on the fitness train. And I'm on it the way I like it....lots of variety and fun. I've also been taking the Pink Panther out alot (My bike) since the weather has been so lovely. I painted my moms roof. And I've also joined up with my company's ICount program. It’s a 10 week program to hit 10,000 steps a day. It’s really neat and I love that my company does stuff like this. The 1st challenge has started, there's about 200 people signed up (How many are actually participating I'm not sure) but they have a list of the current top 20 performers and I'm 4th at the moment. That’s right. The little competitive Jami is coming out for this one. After a few faulty pedometers I'm ready to blow my coworkers out of the water!
So there's the fitness recap and there will be many more. I also have that therapy appointment tomorrow, so you may be hearing some humorous therapy stories. I have no idea what to expect.
So on to the next right!?

And almost the middle of July...

Remember that time thing I mentioned?
Seriously it’s fascinating to me how fast it sails by. Yes, I'm abnormally a very busy person but still. Sheesh. July 10th. Anywhoo....
So I got blind-sided by another dude. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just really stupid, really clueless, or really repulsive. So we hung out a few times, had fun, connected, had some nice lil kisses, flirted, etc etc. Um...we made plans to have dinner and see a couple of shows and I get the "Oh, I should mention I'm dating someone text". REALLY?! WTF!!! You couldn’t have mentioned this sooner????!!! I seem to have the problem of hitting it off with some guy then driving him into the arms of someone else. I don’t get it. I'm not gonna lie - it fucking hurts. It’s like taking my already bruised ego and kicking it right in the face. Hi! Fuck you! Luckily we only hung out a few times, so the getting over it process lasted about 2 days. Remember the Sex and the City episode where Charlotte says getting over someone takes exactly half the time you were with him or something like that? Well...there ya go. But it still hurts. But it hurts because I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, or why I end up with dudes that feel the need to be all into me then magically have someone else. Sigh.
Moving on.
I'm hitting rough patch. (Yes the prior paragraph was also a nice kick me while I'm down). I'm ddddddyyyyyiiiiinnnggggg to start smoking again. Last Tuesday was my 4month anniversary of stopping (NOT EVEN A PUFF!). Yet it’s not getting easier! My nic withdrawals are getting a bit easier thank GAWD. I haven’t projectile vomiting in at least 2 weeks! Yay! It’s fascinating how much my body reacted. I'm thinking of writing a mini short. Maybe a horror. Anyway...hello focus. Losing alot of that lately! (Oh ya...thats a fucking withdrawl sympton) I'm trying so hard to be good. To be positive. To be healthy. To be...well I don’t know....me..but happy? It’s harder then I want to admit. One thing I have noticed about myself, is I've stopped apologizing for who I am. I'm a tomboy. I'm strong. I'm independent. I'm mouthy. I'm not negative but I'm realistic. I have more balls then most men I know. And I'm not sorry. I'm not a girly girl, I never will be. I can’t try to change that anymore. Now the challenge is finding a guy who likes that, loves that actually and a guy who doesn’t feel the need to run off with someone else 2 seconds after we start hanging out. Sigh. Did I mention EVERYONE is pairing off with someone now of course?!. Sigh again.
Moving on.
I still heart my boss. My job is super boring and annoying at the moment, but my boss is awesome and I do love working where I work. It makes such a difference when you’re working for an organization that actually gives a shit about their employees. Well at least in my department anyway. I'm still acting, but being way way more choosy. I loooooooooooooved my burlesque show - and those of you who came out - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You know how nervous I was. And I did it!!!!! You got to witness me actually dancing in front of people and not falling on my face!!!! My father who is Mr. Critical (and actually came to an 11pm show in LBC with mom, Shane and D!) loved my performance. I mean LOVED it! I was so stoked that those of you who came out enjoyed my stint. I did too, and I remember how much I love to make people laugh. It’s been so long since I've done a comedy and I'm reminded how much I love it. Sadly, I looked into a few to audition for, but they actually aren’t that funny
:( But I'm joining up with this burlesque troupe and I'm sure it will have more interesting challenging situations coming up! I do feel good with the acting right now, since I was criticized a bit too much for a while, and realized I need to not take certain people's opinions as truth. I was pleasantly surprised to get some awesome feedback as of late on my acting abilities. By quite a few people!! This made me feel better, and much more confident.
That being said, I HAVE TO get on the creativity train again. I'm torn. I'm trying very hard to share myself with creativity and active lifestyle. I have found my nitch in being active again which is awesome, and I'm also going to embrace my tomboy strong nature and pursue martial arts, or capoeira, or something where I’m hitting something. Because you know what? I love it. I do. That’s me. (Note to self...get 85lb ever last back from old roomie....)
On a good note, another thing I realized about myself, is I think one of my purposes in this odd life we have here is that I'm to bring people together. It happens all the time, and I'm actually now trying to make an effort if I see people who have similar interests I try to at least introduce then they can go from there. Its kind of rad actually because its happening.
So I'm trying folks. I'm running into some very interesting walls, but I'm bashing through them. I'm becoming more accepting of who I am and I think that’s good. I may be looking into therapy tho...so if I do I will of course try my best to humorously report on it!
Wish me luck my comrades!

It's June 15th?!...

Man.
If you’re not careful, time will whiz right by you and before you know it your dead. I mean seriously. I'm still old skool and was putting pictures in photo albums. (Yes, I still print out actual pictures and put them in a book) and of course always find myself flipping through them and some of the things were 2 years ago! WHAT?! Where the hell did the time go!? Anyway...I had the night off. Shocking. And before I get to bed early (Have to get up for an earlier than normal work day) (Oh and pps...yes I try to sleep now) I figured I'd throw out a blog.
So I quit my trainer. Yes, he's my best friend’s brother and was cutting me a deal but he's actually kind of a shitty trainer. He always switched up our time (which is getting impossible for me with my tight schedule), I'm still smooshy around my mid-section, and he refuses to do what I ask. Um "I DONT WANT TO GET BIGGER!!!!". See...I have an athletic body. I will never be skinny, and I refuse to get fat. But I'm curvy and I have muscle and I'm solid. When you do heavy weights my muscles get bigger. I don’t want to get bigger, I want to get toned and leaner. What has happened? My f-ing legs barely fit in my pants because they got bigger. And my mid-section is still weirdly smooshy. Ugh. It’s ok though. This will be an ultimate test of discipline for this girl. I HAVE to work out on my own now. I have to. The good thing is I'm pretty confident I will. The whole training thing was a good step off, because I do feel better when I work out and I felt it. Plus mom showed me this sweet thing on her cable of a kabazillon work out things "On Demand". I'm a TV retard because I never watch it, but apparently there's this channel you can go to and you have all these options! So - that’s what I'm doing now. I'll keep you posted on how good I am at it. I do also have those other 8 million activities I've signed up for and kickball has started up again so I'm by no means going to be a couth potato...oh and did I mention its summer!!! Bike riding!!!
Not smoking is still a success, although I would like to know when I don’t have cravings anymore. I still want one so bad all the fucking time!!!!!! Ugh. Plus there are a lot of smokers in the Twilight Zone show I’m doing. I usually just stand out there with them and sniff. Sigh.
A big terrifying challenge coming up for me is the Post Mortem Grotesque Burlesque show I'm doing Saturday night June 25th at 11pm. I know it’s late, but the more people I have out there supporting me will make me so happy!!! So there's this comic bit that I'm totally confident with. I'm funny right? The 2 guys I do it with are hilarious, our timing seems on, the bit is funny I'm totally stoked. BUT there is a dance # I have to do! A long one! That I'm in front! And it’s about my character so I’m the total focus!!! OH. MY. GOD. Ok...I'm a perfectly fine dancer all my myself with no choreographed moves, but the minute you tell me what to do - it’s very very sad. I'm uncoordinated and clumsy and not at all graceful. I've always envied dancers because they are so pretty and graceful and move flawlessly. I do not. I look like a bull in a crystal factory. I have to do this chair dance. I brought home the chair. I'm having one of the dancers come over and help me. I forced the director to have another rehearsal with me just to work on the dance. I'm so f-ing scared but at the same time I know this is good. This is a challenge for me. This is something I am going to conquer. But OH. MY. GOD. It may not seem like a big deal some, but it’s a huge deal for me. So please. Send me good vibes or better yet - come cheer me on! Eeeeeesh.
So that’s kind of an update I suppose. I'm battling life at the moment with loneliness (I'm seriously really terrified I will never meet someone), there has been a lot of tragedy around me, I'm trying to make some more life changes and honestly really trying to figure out this whole happiness thing. Whew. It’s a lot. I feel overwhelmed but I'm sort of not sure where else to go ya know? Is that weird?
I don’t know.
Have a good week my readers. I hope to continue blogging more!!!

A little me update...

Well I've noticed I'm bombing on the blogging, but I've also noticed so has everyone else. Now that I have a new job, that’s actually quite busy all the time - I don’t have the down time I used to have at previous jobs when I probably found the time to blog the most. Ah well, life happens right? I know there are not many of you who even read this anymore, but I thank those of you who do! It’s comforting to know there's a handful of folks who like to read my ramblings on and on as you all know how much I like to ramble on and on...he he!

So the life changes are still happening, waaaaaay slower than I would prefer, but I do see a smidgen of progress. The biggest news by far is come June 5th (Sunday) will be my 3 month mark of no smoking. I cannot BELIEVE I have done it. I swear to you I have not even had a puff. It’s been hard, and my body is still reacting violently but I have done it. I've lost 2 people this month, and survived Coachella earlier and still did not pick it back up. Didn’t even cheat!!!!! Its nuts. I have not noticed a bit of difference for the good, but I'm ok with that. I know I will notice a difference when my body is done with its gnarly, violent purge of the nicotine. 6 months to a year my Dr. says. Eeeesh.

I'm still training 3 days a week-ish. I'm getting a bit frustrated because I still will not be comfortable in a 2 piece this summer. But I know it takes time. It just takes too much f-ing time. My eating habits have changed. I never really ate poorly, but I find I'm paying more attention and making more conscious efforts to grab the low fat version, or have a salad or try to balance the intake a bit more. I'll be moving more towards eating even healthier I'm sure since I'm actually not hating it. I find I'm drinking less, which means I'm learning some harsh lessons feeling like crap the next day when I drink my usual amount. Tolerances are lowering - I need to be careful. Plus the nicotine withdrawals have made my body much more sensitive to food/alcohol and other things. Ugh. I'm signed up for a ka-jillion things (Many classes at Hidden Talent Fitness coming up, Aerial hoop, Tissue dancing, Indoor Rock Climbing, a month of yoga, stand up paddle boarding and 3 wacky races and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting) So I'm hoping to keep on the active train. I'm in a show, but actually am making time to still get the training in so that’s a first. I'm taking my vitamins. Etc. Etc. Etc. Healthy Healthy Healthy. I'm really hoping to feel a hell of a difference.

I have a goal to get out of here in less than a year now. I need my own place more than anything. That has shifted my priorities around a lot. I'm cutting out some of the fun stuff I'd love to do, but financially need to get that ex-douche's debt gone. I paid off my truck, I need to pay of his loan, buy a bed and a laptop computer then I'll be ready to move out. I have a pretty for sure place to move into as well I hope doesn’t fall through. Getting my own place again will seriously make a world of difference on me I know it. It'll be tight money wise, but I think my sanity will be worth the sacrifice.

I have a bit part in a show coming up that should be fun, and its only 2 weekends. I also have some possibilities in the burlesque world I'm considering coming up as well. So I'm trying to throw that creativity back in my life. I need it and miss it, and even miss blogging so I'm going to try to write more here and in my personal journals. I'm also trying to bring my nice camera with me places and learn it more. I'm old school and like photos just like you shoot them, not all photo-shopped and played with like everyone else in the world seems to be doing.

I've seen some amazing music as usual. You read the Coachella blog. Doheny Blues was a couple of weeks ago and I'm hoping to give it its own blog, but if not check out Tedeshi Trucks Band if you can - they blew me away. The Jimi Hendrix Tribute was also amazing, and Steve Vai stole the show. I love that damn festival. I also had a nice day on Saturday with a friend of mine walking around the Getty for hours, taking photos and learning new things. We also wandered CityWalk and saw a hilarious podcast with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garmon. I was in tears at points I was laughing so hard. A few weeks before that, I went down to San Diego and saw a friend of mine in a beautiful production of Carmen (3 1/2 hours!!!) and got a taste of the ritzy life at the after party and his temporary 3.7 million dollar pad. So a really nice collection of variety this month, different stuff. New stuff.

I'm trying to take care of me more. I'm trying to not let things get to me as much (This is hard, which is why some major changes are being made). I'm trying to be happy. I'll get there. I just wish it would hurry up. ;)

Coachella 2011...

Sadly I was physically a little out of sorts this past weekend for the Coachella. This whole not smoking thing is actually fucking me up hard core. So, I didn’t take notes, and I didn’t take very good pictures since I had no idea how to work mom's camera that I took. Alas, this blog will be a blog of highlights of the 3 day trip to the desert to hear a ridiculous amount of music and check out some weird art.
Coachella 2011:
BANDS:
Friday
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - my surprise fave. Fucking awesome funky band with a little jazz, a little rock, a little blues, some brass and even a lil Jimi move at the end.
Ozomatli - Funky and fun!
Cee Lo Green - was 20 minutes late, and the peeps literally turned him off when his time was up. Oops!
Tame Impala - Lovely
Lauryn Hill - surprisingly fantastic! She was rumored to be a train wreck, but honestly did a fantastic job.
Cold War Kids - Great set.
Interpol - Faboo
Sleigh Bells - Adorable.
The Black Keys - fucking awesome - my other favorite of the night.
Kings of Leon - played well, but just boooooring.
Saturday
Joy Formidable - reminded me a lot of Sia. Not my cup of tea music wise, but she was adorable to watch.
Freelance Whales - one of my faves. So lovely, so happy!
Trampled by Turtles - so awesome, would love to try to see them again somewhere.
Gogol Bordello - of course one of my fave bands of all times. Loooooove them! But my calves hate them.
Erykah Badu - I was so sad. She actually didn’t do that great of a set. She was having major sound issues and I just couldn’t get into her :(
Cage the Elephant - another disappointment, but I don’t really blame them - I blame where we were sitting. I think if we were more in the mix it would have been a better set.
Elbow - I thought I was watching Peter Gabriel. An absolutely gorgeous performance. So mellow, so beautiful. Brought T to tears.
Mumford & Sons - My fave of the night! So sweet, so lovely, so happy, huuuuge crowd. They played perfectly!
Animal Collective - not my fave music wise, but they did put on a trippy set.
Arcade Fire - Beautiful. They were happy and on it and brought it. Loved them!
Sunday
Jimmy Eat World - love them. They were so much fun and another very happy set!
Fistful of Mercy - Another surprise. I know Ben Harper, but not this band - loved them. They harmonized wonderfully!
Foster the People - My fave of the day. They put on a great set and didn’t play one of their hits!!
Duran Duran - they rocked it of course, but honestly did you expect any different?
Chromeo - very fun.
The Strokes - played all their hits, but still loved listening to them.
PJ Harvey - very cool, especially her last couple of songs where she pretty much turned into a rockstar.
Kayne West - Sorry..just don’t get it.
ART:
The Creators Project is a global culture and technology community created by Intel and Vice, showcasing artists. They partnered with a few bands to create some gnarly visual experiences. The opening of Animal Collective's set was insane. The sound started as a low rumbling and got louder and louder and louder like a rocket about to take off. It vibrated the entire grounds and the light show literally looked like the main stage was going to explode. I actually considered running for my life briefly. It was pretty intense! For Arcade Fire - a giant container was held above the stage by a crane and during one of their hits opened up and all these giant white balls fell out onto the crowd. They looked like balloons but bigger. The crowd went wild and from our vantage point you didn’t even see the people anymore, just white balls bouncing around like a giant bubble bath. They also lit up and changed colors! So beautiful!
There was something called the Bugaboo Zoo which was giant bugs created out of bamboo and they lit up at night! There was a huge pagoda that was gorgeous and a nice escape from the sun. Something called Candelaphytes which looked like giant fishtales and moved very slinky like in the wind. The Reel Mobile looked like a giant reel to reel player and it lit up at night also. Music blasted from it all day. One of my faves was Wish - a giant sculpture that looked liked dandelions made up of mirrors and glass. These also lit up at nite. The land sharks of course were back. I love those fucking things! As well as the Balloon Chain. There was a crazy electric volted coil thing that turned on every now and again that was pretty trippy. There were many other things but those are what I caught.
PEOPLE:
Lots of Indians, a couple dressed like characters from CATS, a full on bunny suit, people in underwear, Lots of gals in bathing suits, I think all the men worked out this year cuz there was a lot of great bodies out there. Not gonna lie. I was dying. Many of the usual e-tard kids all glow sticked and make up'd out. A dude in a blue body suit. A couple that decided to have sex right in the middle of everything while I was watching The Strokes. My favorite was watching the people walk by glancing at them then realizing what they were actually doing. ALOT of pot. I think I came home with a contact high. The one thing I would like to point out though, is with 90,000 people I've never seen a fight, I heard there were only 20 arrests on Friday and the worst thing that happened was some chick tried to jump off the Ferris Wheel (Yes she was on drugs and someone caught her dumbass by the ankles so she was ok). It’s truly amazing to me to see that many people all just enjoying everything. People are happy, dancing, chill (yes lots of drunks and drugs but still!), it really is just a giant festival of art and music and brings people together to enjoy just that. That is what truly blows my mind every year.
CONS:
I would give my left leg for a fucking chair. My back just cannot handle sitting on the ground or standing for 3 days in the desert. My allergies were complete shit due to the dust/grass. It’s hot as fuck. Not enough water stations. The crowds do get a little much at times. And always remember to get a locker. It kinda blew carrying everything around this year. It will also cost you your ass. Food and booze is quite expensive. Throw in your tix price and the hotel and you just might as well bend over. Another bummer is the bands - not them personally - but them all playing at the same damn time and you more often than not have to only catch part of sets so you can book it somewhere else to catch another. So the cons aint all that bad, but just be prepared for those sorts of things. The parking is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than last year, they do seem to have a handle on how to handle the crowds a bit better so that was pretty awesome. They did the layout slightly different this year that made a big difference. They need to work out some sound issues (sometimes heavy base can be heard while you’re trying to listen to something else) but they are doing their best to get it right and they are defiantly going in the right direction.
QUOTES:
(This section is of course mainly for my 2 beautiful co-horts, but you may find it amusing)
"When she's wheeze laughing, you know it’s funny"
"I can’t see through my tears"
"You got a tent? I got a pony!"
"Jami's the heavy, I'm the mule"
"Where's that metal pole, Jami will trip on it"
"This is why I can’t play golf" (Visual. Patti)
"Jesus" (Visual. T's face)
"Did he pee?"
"Cookie DeFranks"
I'll try to add more as I remember them, or the girls remind me.
CLOSING:
It’s a pretty gnarly weekend. The music is phenomenal. You always find new music. The atmosphere is a trip. It’s a modern day Woodstock. Your just not in the real world for 3 days. You’re in a blurry haze of music, art, people, heat, exhaustion, emotions, food, booze, laughter and tears. There's nothing like it. So goodbye Coachella 2011. Will I see you next year? Who knows. God pass anyone?

R.A.D....

Well, as you saw by my last blog...Warrior Dash. A few days prior to that I took a R.A.D. Self Defense Class. This stands for Rape Aggression Defense. Since I've been on a kick to do active interesting things as of late (Sadly my financial situation will be slowing this down ALOT) I figured this class would be a go. Its free. Its through the public safety department at my work. Why not? Its a 3 day class - 4 hours a nite after work. The 1st nite was lecturing about rape. No means no. Etc. We had about 8 gals in our class. I'm not going to say I was bored. But I have no problem being aggressive. I know no means no. Some douche bag tries to test that, he only will once. I'm just not that girl. But - I think this class is perfect for girls who need something like this. The 2nd night was our instructor teaching us all the techniques. The first being how to yell. She tested me, laughed and said "Good voice!" "Actor" I responded. But most of the girls had a hard time with this. Then the fight styles. Very similar to karate. I aced it of course. Not to brag, but I've trained to box, took karate for a few years and am just a feisty girl as you all know. I took to this like a fish to water. All the other girls were so amazed by my strength, how hard I punched and kicked and how skilled I was. I was flattered, but modest too - trying to convince these women I've had training - you have not - theres a difference. Day 3 we fight the R.A.D. men. These are 2 cops padded to the nine that attack us in 3 different scenarios - we fight back proving we learned how to defend ourselves in class. I was surprised that all the girls (even the one who took the class before) were nervous! Some of them were saying "I"m not going to be able to fight. I'm too weak. I'm too scared. I'm embarrased. We want to watch you fight Jami!". I was in awe. The 8 of us stood together in the hallway with padded helmuts, elbow braces, knee braces and hand things and all the girls were so scared. I was so excited! I tried to pump them up. "Its going to be awesome!" "We get to fight these guys! For real!" "Your are all going to do so well!!!" We started being taken into the room one by one. We were not allowed to see the gals fight before us, but were able to stay and watch the ones fight after us. This of course was to keep us from seeing what scenario we were walking into.
The 1st scenario we were "At an ATM at night" Our goal in all 3 scenarios is to get away. There was a taped off area, and once we passed a certain part we were "free". 1st dude comes up behind, bear hugs you and takes you to the ground. None of us were expecting that. We didnt really practice for that one. (I actually thought he just lost his balance) I found out later, I was the only one he didnt get a grip on. An old move from karate and my dad I leared was to arch, so as we were going down I did just that and rolled with him then right off him. I kicked him in the head and took off. I met the dude 2 blocking my way, and I also found out I was the only one that ran right at him instead of trying to run around him. I leaped up and punched his head, knocking him down (I dont believe he was expecting that) and literally ran over him to my spot. The 2 gals who watched me shrieked with excitement. Scenario 2 we were "Walking in a park". I honestly dont really remember what I did here...but 4 of the girls were in this time and thier cheering made me feel great, knowing I did something pretty cool :). Scenario 3, which is the video you see here (and I think after you watch mine, you can see the other girls if you like). We were to stand there with our eyes closed until one of the dudes actually touched us. When I saw this video I realized why all the other girls were cheering me on, and loving to watch me fight. I do just that. I fight. Hell I got so in to it I almost fall over from the momentum I had going after the guy! ha ha!! Unfortunatly I did hurt one of them they told me later, I guess I caught him pretty good across the temple. Ooops! :)
I was quite proud of how well I did in this class, and how strong I actually am. The cops teased me later on saying I should join the UFC and calling me Mohammed Ali. They also used me as an example alot with the others girls, saying I was an exception. I was strong and quick.
But this is what really stuck out with me in this class. The other girls. The change in them after our fights. These girls, these timid girls who couldnt yell, who were so nervous to fight, who didnt think they could actually fight the cops - Kicked Ass!!! I felt like a proud mama watching these girls do such a great job, remembering what the instructor taught them. Fighting. Yelling. Doing so well. And best of all thier beaming smiles at the end of class, thier confidence!!!
These are girls that might have frozen up if they were ever attacked, thinking they could not defend themselves and now know they can fight back.
This has inspired me. I emailed my instructor telling her I was interested in being an instructor. Every women should take this class, especially those who are timid and shy and weak and dont think they can defend themselves. It was a great experience, and I'm so happy these girls did so well!!!!

Warrior Dash 2011...

Months back I heard of this thing called Warrior Dash. I've been trying to add all kinds of active things into my life lately (Pole Dancing, Burleque, Circus Fitness, Zumba, Self Defense, etc). I'll keep you posted on how they all turn out - but today I did Warrior Dash 2011. I plan on doing another blog about the Self Defense Class as well (Did that a couple days ago...but I only have energy for one right now). Anywhoo.
I sent out one of my "Hey wanna do this with me?" emails to some peeps about this Dash and ended up with a great group of 9. (We had a few others that unfortunatly dropped out at the last minute). Most of us met at my place early this morning to get out to Lake Elsinore by 10am. Our wave was 11am. One friend did it last year, and 2 friends had done a mudd run before but I have never done anything like this. The only thing I was a little concerned about was the running. I dont run. I cant actually. Ever since I blew my knee apart, running is not possible for me. It also kills my back, and honestly I just dont like it. But this particular event was obviously geared towards people who just want to have a good time no matter what size or shape you are and no matter what kind of physical shape your in. So I was game. The obstacles are what excited me. Its like playing fort or playing on a giant playground!
We all caravan out and pull into the parking lot quite excited. We slap on sun block (Most of us...I'm laughing at the ones now sunburned) gather only our nessasary items and head up. As we walk into the area, there is a group of people in red tee's cheering us on. We check in, get our warrior gear and hang out taking before pictures until its time for our wave. We all gether together with 700 other people (There was supposedly 700 per wave) do a 1-2-3 WARRIORS! Cheer and they blast 2 huge columns of fire and we slowly start to trot. As any marathon, the group starts to spread out and me, my coworker and my roomie end up sticking together as the rest of our crew takes off ahead. I attempt to run for a bit, but this doesnt last. My knee starts barkin (I did wear my brace!!) and I opt for speed walking. The nice part is my 2 companions are little tiny women so they can still jog to my speed walking.
1st obstacle is a giant hay stack. The group is still kind of thick so we have to wait for people to climb over it, but we score it pretty easy. Next up smashed up cars with tires you run through in between. As I grab the corner of one of the crunched cars to hop over, I slice my thumb. It was a tiny little cut but it bled like a bitch. We then ran thru some mud, my co-worker almost ate it. Then some walls showed up, about 3-4 feet high we had to hop over, then go under barb wire, then over the wall, etc. We then came up to a wall with ropes hanging down we had to climb up and over. Next up I believe was this awful rope box thing we had to go thru. My brace came undone and kept getting caught. A lovely fellow runner that looked like Julia Stiles kept rescuing me. After that we ran across some beams over a ravine, then up a rocky hill. Unfortunatly my knee torked a bit here, but didnt get too bad. We then ran into the lake and had to jump over logs in the water. I of course turned to check on my friend and fell head first into the water. Yup. After that was a rope climb thing that went up, across then down. I opted to balance my way across the beam and did quite well. We then ran up another hill thing and started heading down the home stretch. By this point the water had made it extremly difficult for me and my co-worker friend and our shorts were falling down, so we were having to hold them up. Roomie at this point had gone on ahead to join up with 2 of our other crew. Then was the giant rope wall that we climbed and over which was a blast the we start toward the finish line. People are cheering and we hear our names...there's our mom, Keri and Amy shooting pictures. Then Tully shooting pics as he must have finished way before us. Not shocking. We leap over the fire and slosh thru the mudd. It was so squishy and weird!!! I'm laughing the whole time. We cross the finish line and I see photographers on ladders - I scream and give my best warrior cry hoping that'll make it into the photos of the Dash People. We rinse off in the lake, donate our nasty shoes to a charity, head to the car and change then chill in the beer garden eating BBQ beef, Turkey legs and beer.
It was a fucking blast.
Even though I'm not a runner, I smoked all the obstacles. They werent that difficult, but it felt great hopping over things or climbing walls way better then the people around me. I'm starting to accept my strength a little more, which I'll get more into during my self defense blog. But I did it. I did a 5K with random obstacles and a great group of friends. I'm enjoying this active kick I'm on. I'm not a marathon runner or a body builder or an athlete anymore, but keeping the random variety of active stuff is awesome.
I'm a Warrior!!!